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Puss in boots

Charles Perrault
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Once upon a time there was a miller who left
no more riches to the three sons he had than his
mill, his ass, and his cat. The division was soon
made. Neither the lawyer nor the attorney was
sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the
poor property. The eldest had the mill, the sec-
ond the ass, and the youngest nothing but the
cat.

The youngest, as we can understand, was quite

unhappy at having so poor a share.

"My brothers," said he, "may get their living

handsomely enough by joining their stocks
together; but, for my part, when I have eaten
up my cat, and made me a muff of his skin, I
must die of hunger."

The Cat, who heard all this, without appearing

to take any notice, said to him with a grave and
serious air:—
Once upon a time there was a miller who left
no more riches to the three sons he had than his
mill, his ass, and his cat. The division was soon
made. Neither the lawyer nor the attorney was
sent for. They would soon have eaten up all the
poor property. The eldest had the mill, the sec-
ond the ass, and the youngest nothing but the
cat.

The youngest, as we can understand, was quite

unhappy at having so poor a share.

"My brothers," said he, "may get their living

handsomely enough by joining their stocks
together; but, for my part, when I have eaten
up my cat, and made me a muff of his skin, I
must die of hunger."

The Cat, who heard all this, without appearing

to take any notice, said to him with a grave and
serious air:—
"Do not thus afflict yourself, my master; you
have nothing else to do but to give me a bag,
and get a pair of boots made for me, that I may
scamper through the brambles, and you shall
see [Pg 46]that you have not so poor a portion
in me as you think."

Though the Cat's master did not think much of

what he said, he had seen him play such cun-
ning tricks to catch rats and mice—hanging
himself by the heels, or hiding himself in the
meal, to make believe he was dead—that he did
not altogether despair of his helping him in his
misery. When the Cat had what he asked for,
he booted himself very gallantly, and putting
his bag about his neck, he held the strings of it
in his two forepaws, and went into a warren
where was a great number of rabbits. He put
bran and sow-thistle into his bag, and, stretch-
ing out at length, as if he were dead, he waited
for some young rabbits, not yet acquainted
with the deceits of the world, to come and
rummage his bag for what he had put into it.

Scarcely was he settled but he had what he

wanted. A rash and foolish young rabbit
jumped into his bag, and Monsieur Puss, im-
mediately drawing close the strings, took him
and killed him at once. Proud of his prey, he
went with it to the palace, and asked to speak
with the King. He was shown upstairs into his
Majesty's apartment, and, making a low bow to
the King, he said:—

"I have brought you, sire, a rabbit which my

noble Lord, the Master of Carabas" (for that
was [Pg 47]the title which Puss was pleased to
give his master) "has commanded me to pre-
sent to your Majesty from him."

"Tell thy master," said the King, "that I thank

him, and that I am pleased with his gift."
Another time he went and hid himself among
some standing corn, still holding his bag open;
and when a brace of partridges ran into it, he
drew the strings, and so caught them both. He
then went and made a present of these to the
King, as he had done before of the rabbit which
he took in the warren. The King, in like man-
ner, received the partridges with great pleas-
ure, and ordered his servants to reward him.

The Cat continued for two or three months thus

to carry his Majesty, from time to time, some of
his master's game. One day when he knew that
the King was to take the air along the riverside,
with his daughter, the most beautiful princess
in the world, he said to his master:—

"If you will follow my advice, your fortune is

made. You have nothing else to do but go and
bathe in the river, just at the spot I shall show
you, and leave the rest to me."
The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat ad-
vised him to, without knowing what could be
the use of doing it. While he was bathing, the
King passed by, and the Cat cried out with all
his might:—

"Help! help! My Lord the Marquis of Carabas is

drowning!"

At this noise the King put his head out of the

coach window, and seeing the Cat who had so
often brought him game, he commanded his
guards to run immediately to the assistance of
his Lordship the Marquis of Carabas.

While they were drawing the poor Marquis out

of the river, the Cat came up to the coach and
told the King that, while his master was bath-
ing, there came by some rogues, who ran off
with his clothes, though he had cried out,
"Thieves! thieves!" several times, as loud as he
could. The cunning Cat had hidden the clothes
under a great stone. The King immediately
commanded the officers of his wardrobe to run
and fetch one of his best suits for the Lord
Marquis of Carabas.

The King was extremely polite to him, and as

the fine clothes he had given him set off his
good looks (for he was well made and hand-
some), the King's daughter found him very
much to her liking, and the Marquis of Carabas
had no sooner cast two or three respectful and
somewhat tender glances than she fell in love
with him to distraction. The King would have
him come into the coach and take part in the
airing. The Cat, overjoyed to see his plan begin
to succeed, marched on before, and, meeting
with some countrymen, who were mowing a
meadow, he said to them:—

"Good people, you who are mowing, if you do

not tell the King that the meadow you mow
belongs to my Lord Marquis of Carabas, you
shall be chopped as small as herbs for the pot."
The King did not fail to ask the mowers to
whom the meadow they were mowing be-
longed.

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas," answered

they all together, for the Cat's threat had made
them afraid.

"You have a good property there," said the

King to the Marquis of Carabas.

"You see, sire," said the Marquis, "this is a

meadow which never fails to yield a plentiful
harvest every year."

The Master Cat, who went still on before, met

with some reapers, and said to them:—

"Good people, you who are reaping, if you do

not say that all this corn belongs to the Marquis
of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as
herbs for the pot."
The King, who passed by a moment after, wis-
hed to know to whom belonged all that corn,
which he then saw.

"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas," replied the

reapers, and the King was very well pleased
with it, as well as the Marquis, whom he con-
gratulated thereupon. The Master Cat, who
went always before, said the same thing to all
he met, and the [Pg 51]King was astonished at
the vast estates of my Lord Marquis of Carabas.

Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle,

the master of which was an Ogre, the richest
ever known; for all the lands which the King
had then passed through belonged to this cas-
tle. The Cat, who had taken care to inform him-
self who this Ogre was and what he could do,
asked to speak with him, saying he could not
pass so near his castle without having the
honor of paying his respects to him.
The Ogre received him as civilly as an Ogre
could do, and made him sit down.

"I have been assured," said the Cat, "that you

have the gift of being able to change yourself
into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to;
that you can, for example, transform yourself
into a lion, or elephant, and the like."

"That is true," answered the Ogre, roughly;

"and to convince you, you shall see me now
become a lion."

Puss was so terrified at the sight of a lion so

near him that he immediately climbed into the
gutter, not without much trouble and danger,
because of his boots, which were of no use at all
to him for walking upon the tiles. A little while
after, when Puss saw that the Ogre had re-
sumed his natural form, he came down, and
owned he had been very much frightened.
"I have, moreover, been informed," said the
Cat, "but I know not how to believe it, that; you
have also the power to take on you the shape of
the smallest animals; for example, to change
yourself into a rat or a mouse, but I must own
to you I take this to be impossible."

"Impossible!" cried the Ogre; "you shall see."

And at the same time he changed himself into a
mouse, and began to run about the floor. Puss
no sooner perceived this than he fell upon him
and ate him up.

Meanwhile, the King, who saw, as he passed,

this fine castle of the Ogre's, had a mind to go
into it. Puss, who heard the noise of his Maj-
esty's coach coming over the drawbridge, ran
out, and said to the King, "Your Majesty is wel-
come to this castle of my Lord Marquis of
Carabas."

"What! my Lord Marquis," cried the King, "and

does this castle also belong to you? There can
be nothing finer than this courtyard and all the
stately buildings which surround it; let us see
the interior, if you please."

The Marquis gave his hand to the young Prin-

cess, and followed the King, who went first.
They passed into the great hall, where they
found a magnificent collation, which the Ogre
had prepared for his friends, who were that
very day to visit him, but dared not to enter,
knowing the King was there. His Majesty,
charmed with the good qualities of my Lord of
Carabas, as was also his daughter, who had
fallen violently in love with him, and seeing the
vast estate he possessed, said to him:—

"It will be owing to yourself only, my Lord

Marquis, if you are not my son-in-law."

The Marquis, with low bows, accepted the

honor which his Majesty conferred upon him,
and forthwith that very same day married the
Princess.